Streit, D. (University of Ottawa)​The focus of this paper is to delve into the notion of reversibility as described by Merleau-Ponty (1968/1948) by the example of one hand touching the other, and the notion of intertwining. However, in this instance, instead of a hand touching another, the relationship resides in a body and a hula hoop. This exploration of reversibility is based on the findings from a phenomenological research project which investigated the lived experiences of five teacher candidates in a community service learning project. As this research unfolded, the phenomena of learning to teach-in-relation emerged as the teacher candidates engage in the making of, and playing with hula hoops beyond the initial intention of cultivating joyful physical activity on campus. Guided by van Manen’s (1997) phenomenological approach to researching lived experience as well as an relational, Indigenous framework based on the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the medicine wheel, data generated from ongoing conversations over the period of one academic year, observations, reflections, as well as a year-end group interview were analyzed. Based on the six significant themes that emerged from this research: 1) waiting to learn; 2) shaping community; 3) learning in movement; 4) sitting with students; 5) learning with students; and 6) embodying a flexible practice, in what ways did movement, hula hooping in this case, affect the teacher candidates? As the plastic of the hula hoop was re-shaped and molded, bent and made into a circle, how too were the perceptions of the teacher candidates re-shaped? In turn, these are some of the questions that will look at how phenomenology can shed light on and recognize the way movement, motions, gestures, bring us into relationship with multiple lifeworlds.

Lund, O. (VIA University College)​ In this presentation, I will investigate the construction of embodied motivation in the interactions between educators and preschool children during physical activity. The purpose of this study is to advancing the argument that motivation-building is more than pep-talks or intellectual persuasion. Educators can motivate children to participate and immerse themselves in physical activities by facilitating felt ‘here-and-now-experiences’ of motor significance (Wrathall 2005) during concrete interactions with children. On the basisof field work observations in a Danish Kindergarten and phenomenological interpretations I will argue that motivationto participate and engage is facilitated when educators speak to the 'bodies' of children, rather than to their intellectual reasoning. I will illustrate how an educator motivates a child during a game of tag by guiding the child to experiences of excitement through 1) physical contact and 2) theatrical performance. Furthermore, I will argue that the child’s motivation is developed, because the educator’s actions create an environment of bodily felt uncertainty, which refers to ambiguous ‘here-and-now-experiences’ in which children simultaneously feel ‘maybe-I-can’ and ‘maybe-I-cannot’ excel the challenges of the activity (Kretchmar 1975). This study suggests that motivation-building depend on educators ability to sense when and how they need to apply their own concrete bodily participation during pedagogical activities in order to guide the children to the bodily significances of the activities. In conclusion, I will suggest tentative recommendations for how educators can use this knowledge within pedagogical practices. ReferencesWrathall, M. (2005). Motives, reasons, and causes. In Taylor Carman & Mark B. N. Hansen (eds.), The CambridgeCompanion to Merleau-Ponty. Cambridge University Press: 111-128. Kretchmar, R.S. (1975). From test to contest: An analysis of two kinds of counterpoint in sport. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport 2: 23-30.

Transforming Body, Emerging Utterance: A phenomenological description of an intractive training session for a puppet performance​

Okui, H. (University of Paris Descartes)​This paper describes the moment when a new bodily technique is acquired, using the case of the Awaji Puppet Theater. In the traditional Japanese performance, which originated in the 16th century, a single puppet is manipulated by three puppeteers who grasp its legs, hands, and neck from behind. The performers discuss the movements with meaningful nonverbal gestures in the training session, in which they struggle to learn traditional sequences of puppet choreography. Their bodies carry out difficult interactions, as a learner cannot easily imitate the proper movements and a master cannot easily explain that with which he is so familiar. Although phenomenology assumes that ""the world is always 'already there' before reflection begins"" (Merleau-Ponty, 1962), we can still ask how we consider movement before its being acquired or attempted. The focus here is the precise coordination of gestures and utterances about the interactions. To confirm a sequence of new movements, the learning puppeteer moves through parts of the choreography by tracing them with his body, accompanying the movements with onomatopoeic utterances. We can say that this trial movement with associated utterances is not just ""a process of thinking"" but, rather, it evokes ""a synchronizing change of my own existence, a transformation of my being"" (ibid.). This means that the performers' utterances are not simply representational speech but are also expressions of the embodied self; they facilitate the body’s comprehensionof the emergence of new movements. Through such examinations, we are able to describe the puppeteers' lived experiences in the working process oftransformation. That is, these insights are not about learning the bodily skill itself but, rather, about the potentiality of ourbodies, which can enliven our conversation, engender our transformation, and realize our being-in-the-world.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.